Custom 3x7 Tile Shower Build in Salisbury NC

This one started as a fully stripped shell - bare framing, exposed plumbing, nothing on the walls. That's actually how we prefer to start a custom shower build. When everything is open, we can do it right from the ground up, and that's exactly what happened here in Salisbury, NC.

The build process on a shower like this has a lot of layers that most people never think about. Before any tile goes up, you need a solid, waterproof substrate. We used PermaBase cement board on the walls and a properly sloped shower pan with a Water-Tite membrane - that pink waterproofing coat you see is what keeps moisture from ever reaching the framing behind it. We also ran a laser level during the floor layout to make sure the tile drain sits perfectly centered. These are the steps that separate a shower that lasts from one that leaks in three years.

Once the substrate was dialed in, we set the large-format stone-look tile throughout - floor, walls, the niche, all of it. Large-format tiles are trickier to install than smaller ones because any variation in the surface shows up fast. Getting them to lay flat and line up clean wall-to-wall takes patience and skill. The end result is that seamless, almost continuous stone look that makes the whole space feel more expensive than a standard tile job.

The built-in double niche with a metal trim surround is a detail we're particularly proud of on this one. It's framed out clean, the tile inside matches the field tile perfectly, and the trim gives it a finished, intentional look. Same goes for the floor drain - it's centered right where four tile corners meet, which requires planning your tile layout from the start, not as an afterthought.

When you put all those layers together - the proper substrate, the waterproofing, the laser-leveled floor, and the large-format tile set wall to wall - you end up with a shower that looks sharp and is built to hold up for the long haul. That's the standard we hold every bathroom remodel to, whether it's in Salisbury or anywhere else in the area.